Mekuria Mergia

We are on our way to the washing station in Guji with Mekuria and Elias in a four-wheel-drive car. The natural environment here is different from that of Yirgachefe. We alternated through gently rising green hills and dusty red dirt off-roads. Houses with colorfully painted walls, people washing clothes in the river, and cows grazing on grass. I listened to the conversations going on inside the car as I looked out at the scenery. It was the weekend and the Cup of Excellence competition open for entries on Monday so they were passionately talking about it all the time. They kept talking continuously as the car continued to rattle along. They were speaking in the Ethiopian language so I was trying to imagine what they were saying in my mind. “I can’t wait to see which ranking we will be placed in.” “How much do you think we can sell it for?” “I heard that the farmer in Gedeb produces anaerobic.” “I wonder how many hours he fermented it?” I felt so close to them while thinking, “This is what a start-up is like.” There are endless things to think about, to discuss, and ideas flowing in. Independent Producers Wete Ambela Coffee is a startup founded in 2018 that benefited from the ease of the ECX regulation. The changes in ECX rules in 2017 made it relatively easier to obtain an export license that allowed direct trade under the system. The first Cup of Excellence competition was held in 2020 that excited buyers from all over the world, which led many producers and suppliers to start their own export businesses. Mekuria, production director of the...